Bill C-89, An Act to provide for the resumption and continuation of postal services was passed by the federal Liberal majority in the House of Commons on November 24, 2018 and took effect at noon on November 27. One year has passed.
Right to Strike Ruled a Charter Right in 2016 Ontario Superior Court Decision - For immediate release - Ottawa - The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) will file a constitutional challenge today with the Ontario Superior Court after being legislated back to work by the Liberal government two weeks ago.
What is Canada Post doing? While your Negotiating Committee is getting ready for the mediation phase outlined in the Act, Canada Post is packing up and leaving the hotel without even letting the Union know. What a show of class and respect! It appears that Canada Post has no intention of fully taking part in the mediation set out in the back-to-work legislation.
The government has aligned themselves with Canada Post. They have legislated more pain, injuries and unpaid work. But they cannot legislate labour peace. Canada Post has the potential to do many great things for people and for our communities while creating safe, stable and decent jobs. And yet, we find ourselves back in a familiar place, where once again, the governing party has sided with the richest interests in the country, proving that corporations really control political power.
Ottawa – After 37 days of rotating strikes, unconstitutional legislation has removed the right to strike for postal workers. Legal strike action ends at noon today, but the struggle is not over. You cannot legislate labour peace. We are now moving to a different phase of the struggle. We are asking members to return to their regularly scheduled shifts as of 12:00 pm ET and await further instructions. In the coming days, we will be calling on our allies and membership for a campaign of mobilizations, demonstrations and non-violent civil disobedience. All options remain on the table to achieve negotiated collective agreements that address health and safety, equitable treatment, fair wages and working conditions, and the democratic right to free collective bargaining.
After 37 days of rotating strikes, unconstitutional legislation has removed the right to strike for postal workers. Legal strike action ends at noon today, but the struggle is not over. You cannot legislate labour peace. We are now moving to a different phase of the struggle. We are asking members to return to their regularly scheduled shifts as of 12:00 pm ET and await further instructions.
CUPW Vows to Keep Fighting; All Options on the Table - For Immediate Release - OTTAWA – The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is exploring all options to fight the back-to-work legislation passed in the Senate this evening, which will send our members back to the same old unresolved problems in the workplace at the busiest time of the year.
“Postal workers are rightly dismayed and outraged,” says Mike Palecek, CUPW National President. “This law violates of our right to free collective bargaining under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
Liberal Government Betrays Postal Workers, Passes Back-to-Work Legislation - For Immediate Release - OTTAWA – The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is exploring all options to fight the back-to-work legislation fast-tracked through the House of Commons early this morning which will send our members back to the same old unresolved problems in the workplace at the busiest time of the year.
Bill C-89 passed the House of Commons last night. Even though mediator-assisted negotiations are still going on, the Trudeau Liberal government chose to undercut our bargaining power and send us back to the same old unresolved problems in the workplace. We condemn the legislation as a hypocritical act by a government that promised to defend workers’ rights, claimed to stand for equality for women, and claimed to stand for expanding and defending the middle class. It’s unacceptable for any government to violate workers’ Charter rights, especially one that said it would work to improve labour relations at Canada Post. Shame on Trudeau and Hajdu, who promised better.
Support Postal Banking - Download and Sign the Petition
Canada needs a postal bank. Thousands of rural towns and villages in our country do not have a bank, but many of them have a post office that could provide financial services. As well, nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders. A postal bank could be that alternative. Download and sign the petition urging the Government of Canada to instruct Canada Post to add postal banking, with a mandate for financial inclusion.
OTTAWA– Tomorrow, CUPW and Canada Post will be meeting in Ottawa for two days to resume Negotiations.
CUPW is trying to negotiate new collective agreements for both Urban and Rural and Suburban Mail Carrier (RSMC) bargaining units which will both benefit postal workers and strengthen our public post office - now and for future generations.
This weekend, March 1 and 2, CUPW and Canada Post negotiators will reconvene in Ottawa to resume bargaining and trying to secure new collective agreements for Urban and RSMC units. Your National Executive Board and Negotiating Committees remain steadfast in their commitment to reaching fair collective agreements.
On International Women’s Day, we honour the achievements of women while also confronting the gender inequality and misogyny that persist in our society.
The National Constitution sets the basic dues rate for Urban Operations workers at 300% of the maximum hourly rate for the lowest classification within the bargaining unit.
RSMC dues have been set at 1.71% of the wage portion received by each member, to a maximum equal to the dues for Urban members. Some Locals have bylaws for a local assessment over and above the monthly basic dues.
CUPW and Canada Post met with Commissioner Kaplan after the fourth day of hearings of the Industrial Inquiry Commission to discuss the next steps. During this meeting, the Parties agreed to return to a parallel two-day negotiations process on March 1 and 2 to try to negotiate new collective agreements for the Urban and RSMC units. Mr. Kaplan will once again serve as Mediator.
Today, February 20, the Industrial Inquiry Commission resumed for a fourth day of hearings with both CUPW and Canada Post presenting their rebuttals.
The Parties were asked to provide detailed costed proposals for this month’s hearings. While CUPW presented well-thought out and researched proposals, the Corporation repeated the same old talking points without submitting documentation or costing to prove that its proposals could return Canada Post to financial sustainability. The Corporation instead proposed new language.
Bar charts are calculated from September 1 to August 31 annually. Because of the strike, which took place from November 15 to December 13, 2024, there were only nine working days each in November and December. In this case, we concluded an agreement with Canada Post, similar to the one reached in 2018, to exclude those 22 days from the bar charts calculations.
Today, February 19, the Industrial Inquiry Commission held its third day of hearings. We received an update on the number of submissions made to the Commission before the public deadline – approximately 900! The Commission hopes to have these all made available to the Parties by Friday.
CUPW is gearing up for its flagship education initiative, the Union Education Program (UEP), which will take place over four weeks in 2025. The Program is intended to build leadership capacity in our Union. Your application must be submitted by March 1, 2025 ...